Oak, Smoke and Embers - Wednesday 5 November at Hamilton Beer and Wine
Notes on the lineup…
Ardbeg BizarreBQ 50.9%
Maturation - Oak, PX and experimental BBQ Casks
Region - Islay
Style - Dirty peat and rich sherry
PPM - 55 ppm (approx)
Ardbeg - Ardbeg opened in 1815. It peated its own malt until 1974 when a boom in peated whisky necessitated that it start using Port Ellen Maltings to fill demand. To purists, this was the end of an era.
In 1981 the distillery was mothballed, but restarted again in 1989, only to close again in 1996. Glenmorangie came to the rescue a year later and began revamping the brand. Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy bought both distilleries in 2004.
Elements of Islay 'Beach Bonfire' Feis Isle 2023 54.5%
Maturation - New Oak, Bourbon, Refill and Sherry Casks
Region - Islay
Style - Rich and decadent, peat and zesty peat
PPM - 40-55 ppm
Rumoured to be Laphroaig, Caol Ila and Bowmore.
Elixir Distillers is a Scottish independent bottling company founded in 2016. It owns well-established brands such as Elements of Islay, Port Askaig, Macbeth & Single Malts of Scotland.
Longrow 18 YO 46%
Maturation - 90% Sherry / 10% Port
Region - Campbeltown
PPM - 50-55 ppm
Style - earthy, coastal and peat forward
Longrow is a heavily peated expressions made at the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown. The distillery is famous for its traditional earthy style and for doing everything from malting to bottling on site. It is also one of a handful of distilleries using direct-fired stills and also has worm tubs, runs a 2.5x distillation regime and matures its stock on site in dunnage warehouses.
The Whisky Cellar Series 8 “Robusto” Cigar Malt Blended Whisky 8 YO
52.5%
Maturation - Oloroso Sherry Casks
Blended Malt - Peated Glenturret / Caol Ila, Glenrothes, Ben Nevis and “Dalrymple” (a tea-spooned malt from the Ailsa Bay Distillery)
Region - Speyside
Style - Grunty, cigar smoke, peat, sherry and sulphur
The Whisky Cellar is an independent bottler set up in by Keith Bonington (Keeper of the Quaich).
Benrinnes 2010/11 YO Artist Collective 5.4 48%
Maturation - 1st Fill Sherry Butt Finish (approx. 500 litres).
Region - Speyside
Style - Elegant sherry with meaty touches.
PPM - unpeated
Benrinnes - key distillery features include worm tub condensers, which push a meatier style. Prior to 2007 - Benrinnes practised partial triple distillation involving 2 sets of three stills - with a wash still, an intermediate still and a spirit still in each set.
Aberfeldy 20 YO Exceptional Cask Double Cask 54.1%
Maturation - Ex-bourbon & sherry finish (4 years)
Region - Highlands
Style - fruity with notes of honey, toast and spices.
PPM - unpeated
Aberfeldy is a Highland single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, famous for producing the signature "honeyed richness" malt that forms the heart of the Dewar's blended whisky.
